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As we have reported earlier, more than 15.000 submissions were made to find a universal logo for human rights in an initiative by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cinema for Peace and the German Institute for Human Rights. A Jury comprised of renowned designers, human rights activists and political figures including Mohammad Yunus, Shirin Ebadi and Michael Gorbatschow, as well as Waris Dirie, selected ten designs out of 100 designs picked through an online vote. Ten ten finalists were again presented to the online community, who chose the winning logo.

The Logo was presented by the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle during the United Nations general Assembly in New York on Friday.

“I would like to thank each and everyone who participated in this contest. The sheer amount of submissions was incredible! There were designs sent in from all over the world and I was very impressed with the variety of the ideas presented”, Waris Dirie said of her role as a member of the jury.

More than 130.000 people voted to choose the winning design. The chosen design was submitted by a graphic designer from Belgrade, Serbia.

A logo for human rights: Over 15.000 designs submitted

German text below.

The design contest “A logo for Human Rights” has yielded an incredible 15.296 submissions by the end of the application period yesterday. All designs will now be reviewed by the Jury, of which Waris Dirie is also a member. “I am amazed at the number of submissions and very excited to see all these great designs”, Waris Dirie said at the end of the submission period.

One hundred submitted designs will enter a second stage of review by the Jury, who will then choose the ten finalists. These designs will be put online for the community voting. Between August 27th and September 17th 2011, the online community will be able to vote for their favourite design. The winning logo will be presented during the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations. Waris Dirie will attend the presentation of the Human Rights Logo on September 23rd in New York.

Before the end of the year, the many readers of Desert Flower and Waris Dirie fans in Japan will get the chance to see the movie adaptation of Desert Flower in cinemas across Japan. You can already see the Japanese trailer here.

“I saw this video of a young Somali girl fighting for her life as a result of complications of her mutilation. Even after 15 years of fighting against FGM, it makes me incredibly angry to see that this practice continues to exist despite its horrible consequences. This is not an exception, cases like this happen every day. I hate the ignorance and brutality of the people practicing FGM, because they know exactly what they are putting their own daughters through. Everyone knows how painful and dangerous this perverted practice is, and yet they continue to destroy the lives of girls every day. It is time that the situation of African women finally improves in Africa, and eradicating a practice as inhumane as FGM must be the first step!” – Waris Dirie

FGM is often referred to as a religious custom that is practices my Muslims. While FGM is more widespread among Muslims than other religious groups, it is also practiced by Christians. Unlike many people believe (and argue), FGM is not demanded by the Quran. Nonetheless, many of those practicing FGM refer to the Quran and their religion as a source for justification.

“Although violence against women happens in all societies, and all religious groups, I also knew that it was predominantly Muslim parents who used their religion to justify the mutilation of their daughters. I remember the day very well when a young mother who had just arrived in Austria after fleeing Sudan stood in front of the door of my office one morning. A large aid organisation that helped asylum seekers settle in Austria and referred her to my foundation.

The woman told me that she had come from Sudan only a couple of weeks ago, together with her husband, his parents, and her small daughter who was two years old. But soon after they had reached Austria and escaped the war in Darfur, there had been only one topic between her husband and his parents: how and where could they circumcise her little daughter here in Austria. The young woman, who had herself been mutilated as a child had not planned to put her own daughter through this torture, too. She had hoped that the flight to Europe would solve this problem, and that the topic would not be brought up once they were here where FGM was not commonly practised and in fact illegal. But here hopes did not uphold. Her parents in law, who were very faithful Muslims, insisted that the little girls was mutilated. Far away from her own family and all her friends here in Europe, the young mother had no one to turn to for help, and, after long contemplation, finally talked to the Austrian social worker who was supposed to help the family settle and integrate in Austria, and who sent her to me.

Does the family of your husband know the Qua-ran? I asked the woman, who almost disappeared in the large chair because she was so small and fragile.

They are convinced that only circumcision will make out daughter a true Muslim, the woman responded, close to tears. I had heard this argument many times before.

There is an Imam here in Vienna you’re family should talk to. He can explain to your parents in law that genital mutilation is not demanded in the Qua-ran and that many Imams actually consider it a grave sin. Allah would not have created our daughter the way she is had he wanted us humans to change something about her.

The face of the young woman lighted up.

Maybe that’s a possibility. If there is anyone they will listen to on this issue, it’s an Imam!

I gave the woman the address of the Imam and arranged a meeting with the whole family. A few days later, the young woman came back to my office and happily thanked me for her my help. But my relief did not last long. Only a few days later, the woman was back, devastated. She told me that her parents in law still insisted on mutilating her daughter.

They do believe the words of the Imam, but they are convinced that my daughter will never find a husband if she is not circumcised. They say that no man will pay for an uncut girl!

Why reducing poverty is such an important aspect of the fight against FGM.

Those of you who have already read my new book “Black woman, white country” will immediately know what I am referring to. In the past 12 years, I have campaigned against FGM. I have tried – and succeeded – in bringing this horrible crime to the attention not only of politicians and the media, but also to the attention of all of you. I have travelled to all continents to speak about FGM and I have educated women and men in Africa and in immigrant communities all over Europe about the dangers and uselessness of mutilating their daughters.

Many countries have changed their laws and FGM is now illegal virtually everywhere in Africa and Europe. However, many young girls continue to be mutilated every year, despite awareness raising and educational campaigns realized by the Waris Dirie Foundation and many others active in the fight against FGM, leading me to ask why?

Why would a mother be willing to have such a cruel, painful and highly risky procedure, which has no benefits for her at all performed on her daughter? The answer is often economic. In societies that practice FGM, daughters are an essential part of their parents “retirement plan” (which of course does not exist in most of the countries where FGM is being practices). Arranged marriages are a vital part of a family’s income, especially as the parents get older and may no longer be able to work. In societies where FGM is the norm, not mutilating one’s daughters would make it very difficult, if not impossible to marry them. This is a huge financial and social risk for a mother to take.

While working on “Black woman, white country”, I came to the conclusion that the only way to effectively fight FGM is by changing the role and recognition of women in their societies. Once a woman has her own income and is financially independent, she will be able to actually put the things she learns through educational campaigns about FGM into practice.